26 September 2007

self portrait #45

march 23, 2007: in a mcdonald's bathroom, somewhere in the great wide open state of wyoming.

tomorrow will mark six months here in portland-- six whole months since our big trek cross country. sometimes I can't believe we pulled it off. like, how did we pull that one off? how did we manage to make it through eight days of driving? through eleven different states? how? by the grace of God, I tell you. and care packages put together by so many loving hands. and indoor swimming pools. and an inordinate amount of junk food. my friend amy (who made this same atlanta-to-portland roadtrip six years ago) said 'give yourself permission to indulge in a snickers bar. and an icy cold coke. or two or three. you're going to need it.' in fact, she even sent me a little tan leather pouch filled with several quarters and a small slip of paper with the words 'snickers fund' scribbled on it. best advice ever.

other survival tactics: flashlights in the car at night. good music. great books. bare feet on the dashboard. and the seeing of so much of america through the eyes of a little point and shoot camera.

great photo. even better with the story behind it. i have a romatic notion of a cross country drive and am wanting to do it with our kids in a few years - so much to see and experience outside of this little spot on earth. love the flashlights, the quarters, and the snickers bars!

Amazing westward ho photos! I drove once from Colorado to Atlanta with my sister (without kids) and even then we needed all the snickers and coke we could get. And yes, great music--a necessity. Lots of it.

yeah i moved to pdx 13 years ago, from north carolina, with my kid (then 5). the biggest uhaul that uhaul makes. with my car attached to the back on a trailer. and two cats. and a rabbit. and a wacky mother, driving behind in another car, trying to send me HAND SIGNALS on winding mountain roads. and getting stung by a bee whiest driving said uhaul (i'm allergic to bees!) and a tornado on the horizon while driving through utah. and me damn near flippin' out somewhere in idaho. arriving in 105 degree heat of june. alot has happened since then, but every one of those 13 + years has been faulous and that hellacious 5 (or was it 6?) day trek worth all of it!!